


The Death of Warden-Commander Joline

by tgtwDA (theghoulthatwrites)



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: F/M, Other, i jsut finished my most recent playthrough of DAO and i have so many feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-19
Updated: 2016-06-19
Packaged: 2018-07-16 02:13:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7247998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theghoulthatwrites/pseuds/tgtwDA
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been one year since Alistair sacrificed himself to slay the Archdemon and Warden Cousland is not taking it well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Death of Warden-Commander Joline

It had only been a year since Alistair Theirin slayed the Archdemon and Warden Joline Cousland was named the Hero of Ferelden. Now Joline was Warden-Commander, in charge of leading the famed Grey Wardens against the darkspawn. However, in recent months, Joline had done scarcely anything herself; leaving all Grey Warden matters to one of her most trusted subordinates, appearing only when absolutely necessary.

Her life had become extremely hectic in the months following the end of the Fifth Blight and she was kept so busy that she rarely had the time to reflect on the actions of her fellow warden and lover. But now that the darkspawn had been driven from the surface and even further back into the Deep Roads, Joline found herself with much time to reminisce.

By all accounts, one would believe that Joline would have been able to accept her beloved's decision to keep her alive and sacrifice himself for her and Ferelden, but it was quite the opposite. Joline had fallen into the deepest depths of depression, ensnared by its black claws and held unsparingly. Even though her entire family was not lost, Fergus still lived and was actively attempting to right the numerous wrongs done by Rendon Howe, a large part of her was now gone. Instead of the heart she had given to Alistair was a black hole, festering with guilt and self-hatred.

Many times had her former companions visited and tried to release her from the depths of despair to no avail. The Warden-Commander remained locked in her room, cast in shadows, lost in her own thoughts. They all refrained from commenting on the obsessive behavior she displayed with Alistair's personal effects; she meticulously polished his armor until her own pale, hollowed reflection shown in the metal. All of his clothes, save for the ones he perished in, were scattered on the bed and amongst the room; she was rarely seen wearing anything other than one of his shirts. She wore his mother's amulet around her neck, clinging to the pendant tightly in her fitful sleep.

Her dreams were haunted by the face of the man she loved. Sometimes the dreams ended in happiness; what their life would have been like together had Alistair lived and until they both heard the Calling. Those particular images hurt far worse than the grotesque replays of the day Alistair gave the final blow against the Archdemon. They showed her what could have been had she been more forceful about Alistair laying with Morrigan the night before the battle. But Joline wouldn't - couldn't - force Alistair to do something he did not want. 

On one such occasion, Zevran had decided to visit the Warden's headquarters in Denerim. To catch up with his closest friend, he had said, but all the wardens knew the real reason for his abrupt visit: their commander had been getting worse. Now she did not even make appearances for new Joinings or important meetings, leaving it all to her second in command.

Zevran had knocked softly on her bedroom door before opening it quietly. His eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness of the room. It is still daylight, is it not? He thought. How does she manage to block the sun so? When his eyes finally adjusted enough for him to see the room somewhat clearly, he was appalled. There was garbage everywhere, strewn in with clothes and armor carelessly dumped. Aside from the glowing armor on a stand, which he assumed was Alistair's.

He noticed her sitting on a small armchair, staring at the armor. Even in Alistair's loose shirt one could see just how thin she had become. Her once beautiful muscles atrophied to nothing, her strange red and green hair no longer shone but was rather dirty and tangled. He moved to her side silently to get a look at her face. Her pale blue eyes, which had once burned with passion and determination, were empty and lifeless. They stared in the direction of the armor but it was clear that they saw nothing but memories of the past.

"Warden?" Zevran whispered, trying to get her attention without startling her.

Joline's lifeless eyes met his but remained unseeing; she seemed to not notice he was even there.

Hours went by with Zevran attempting to draw Joline out of her shell, to no avail. It was clear that the death of Alistair had finally taken its toll on her psyche. Finally Zevran sighed and turned away from the catatonic warden-commander and left the room, promising to be back in a couple weeks. There was no response as he quietly shut the door and left, disappointed.

Her former companions did not think it would affect her just this much to have lost Alistair; they had all assumed it was a severely rushed pairing with no true love between them. However it seemed they were gravely mistaken. Weeks went by with companions visiting in succession with one another, each trying to coax the warden into leaving the room and accepting Alistair's heroic death.

One day some new warden recruits witnessed their commander leaving the headquarters and disappearing into the forest. One recruit reported the sighting to the second in command but the older warden assured the recruit that every so often, the commander made a pilgrimage to the fallen warden's burial site. The recruit thought nothing of it after receiving that explanation.

In truth, no one thought anything of it until the warden-commander did not return the next day nor the day after. The second in command sent word to each of the warden's former companions, requesting that they return to the Grey Warden headquarters to assist in the search for the missing commander. Within the next few days each of Joline's friends was gathered at the headquarters, extremely worried about their friend's absence. Even Morrigan returned from Orlais to seek out her friend.

The first place the group chose to look was Alistair's grave. And it turned out that was the only place they needed to check.

The party found the warden-commander sitting on the soft grass, her arms crossed on top of the stone casket and her head resting on top of them. When Zevran approached the warden and touched her shoulder, he was aghast to realize that she was no longer alive.

Wynne tried every healing spell she knew, but she could not revive the warden. Joline had lost her will to carry on without Alistair, she informed the party, and therefore was unable to succeed in resuscitating her. She had most likely fallen ill in her vigil at Alistair's side and with no immune system to fight it, she finally succumbed and died.

They did not leave her there; Sten carried her cold, lifeless body back to the headquarters where they informed the second in command what had happened. The Grey Wardens wept for their fallen commander, holding a ceremonial moment of silence in her honor.

Joline was laid beside Alistair, Queen Anora and the vast majority of Ferelden in attendance. The reason for her death was not disclosed to the public; only the most important nobles with whom the Hero was in contact with knew what happened. The nation of Ferelden wept at the loss of their beloved Hero; a piece of Ferelden honor had died with the warden-commander.

While the nation mourned its loss, Joline's friends found solace in the knowledge that the warden was now in the presence of her lover at the Maker's side. She no longer had to live on without the man she loved, no longer consumed by guilt for letting him die, but instead was finally reunited with him in peace.

**Author's Note:**

> this is mostly only true for older people, but statistically, most people die within 1 year of their SO's death.


End file.
